Hidden Lines
by SamanthaJ3
Summary: It's the 2nd year at Hogwarts, and there's a new student just arrived from America.  Cannon characters and plotlines find new adventures and twists as we head toward a different ending that what's in DH.


Sam stepped down from the train, her hand grasping the straps of her oversized purse which she had slung over her shoulder. It was night, and the dim station lighting did not provide her with a clear view of where she needed to go next.

Sitting in the crowded compartment, she had found herself something of an oddity. Not only was Sam a new transfer student – apparently a rarity at Hogwarts – but she was also an _American_. The combination seemed to take the other students by surprise.

In turn, just being in Great Britain was a huge surprise to Sam who had never traveled farther than an hour's drive from her home in eastern Tennessee. The accents in England were different. The food was different and sometimes served differently. The transportation was even different. Sam and her grandmother had ridden an Amtrak train from Knoxville to New York City where Sam had boarded an airplane for London, but the Amtrak train wasn't anything like the Hogwarts Express.

The first hour on the train had been horribly embarrassing in Sam's opinion. She had arrived at the station early enough to secure a good seat, but the train had been so crowded that her compartment had filled quickly with a group of older girls from Slytherin house. Sam recognized the symbol on bags and scarves, and she was instantly on guard.

The Slytherin girls had pelted Sam with about five minutes of intense questioning. What school had she attended in the United States? What subjects had she studied? Who were her parents? Sam had never been happier that her dissolute mother had taken five minutes in her self-destructive journey to stop and marry Sam's father. The Jones name held no negative history as far as Sam knew, and its ordinariness had made Sam's father sound like the Muggle he was.

"Half breed," they had muttered in contempt. After that, though, the other girls left Sam alone except for making a few pointed comments about the red birthmark on her upper right cheekbone.

Eventually the Slytherin girls had found another compartment – probably one filled with Slytherin boys from the bits of conversation which Sam had overheard – and the compartment had been refilled a few minutes later with a group of Hufflepuffs. The Hufflepuff girls had been considerably nicer than the Slytherin group, but Sam still found the constant scrutiny of her American accent, her American background, and her birthmark to be exhausting.

"Firs' years, this way," a booming voice broke through Sam's thoughts as she stood near the edge of the platform. She watched a giant of a man leading a group of boys and girls away from the train.

Clutching her purse more tightly, Sam followed the exodus of older and taller students toward a clearing. While this was her first year at Hogwarts, she wasn't a first year student. The letter which she had received from Hogwarts had been quite clear that she would be considered a second year transfer student. She watched as different groups of students climbed into the waiting carriages. She wondered how many of the other students knew just how their carriages moved so smoothly. People seemed to be climbing up to ride with their friends. Sam didn't know quite when she should join them.

The waiting group had diminished, and there were only about a dozen students waiting to climb into the carriages. Sam found herself standing at the back of a group, standing beside a girl who appeared to be close to her own age. The girl kept twisting her neck to look up and down the area between the train station and their current location. Sam couldn't clearly see the girl's house emblem, but she didn't think it looked like Slytherin. Emboldened by that fact, Sam leaned slightly toward the girl. "Excuse me, did you lose something? Are you looking for someone?"

"Yes," the girl turned to face Sam. "You're not a first year, are you? Because the first years travel to the castle by boat."

_That sounded like fun_. "No, I'm – well, it's my first year at Hogwarts, but I'm a second year student." Sam swallowed hard. Now or never. "My name is Samantha Jones."

The girl extended her hand to Sam who shook it as firmly as she could. "Hermione Grainger. I'm second year, too." Hermoine stood on her toes and looked back toward the station again.

"Did you lose someone?" Sam tried again. So far, so good. Hermoine didn't seem to attach any significance to Sam's name. There hadn't been any nasty remarks about Sam's American accent. The girl hadn't asked to see Sam's pedigree. "Or are you waiting for somebody?"

"Harry and Ron." Hermione seemed to give up on her quest as she remained flat on her feet and looked at the newcomer. "Harry and Ron are friends of mine. They're also in Gryffindor – Gryffindor's one of the four houses here at Hogwarts."

"Oh, I know," Sam replied. "I read all about them in _Hogwarts: A History_."

Hermoine smiled for a moment, then she took one last look toward the station. "Ron and Harry were _supposed_ to be on the train with us. I can't imagine where they are."

Sam thought she detected a note of worry, maybe loneliness in Hermione's voice. Sam was very familiar with feeling lonely. "If they're supposed to be here, I'm sure your friends will show up. I made it all the way to Hogwarts from Tennessee. I imagine your friends must live closer."

"Much closer," Hermione agreed. "In fact, I could have sworn that Fred and George said that Ron was right behind them -- Wait. When did I start listening to Fred and George?" Another carriage pulled up to the remaining group of four girls. "Well, I expect you're right. Come on then. You're going to love Hogwarts."

"I hope so," Sam murmured as she climbed up into the carriage and sat down beside Hermione.

"This is Frela Roundle. She's in Ravenclaw." Hermione made the introductions. "And this is Ollie Myles, also in Ravenclaw."

"So you're not in a house yet?" Frela had been obviously eavesdropping. "I wonder if they'll sort you before or after the first years?"

"Which house do you want to be in?" Ollie leaned forward. "You must make really good marks to transfer into Hogwarts."

Sam shrugged. "I do okay, I guess."

"Well, which house do you want?" Ollie repeated her question.

Sam watched Hermione staring back toward the train station as it disappeared from their view. The Gryffindor badge was clearly visible as she twisted around in the carriage.

"I guess any house will be fine," Sam replied.

_As long as it's not Slytherin._


End file.
